Films to buoy your spirits and promote harmony and positivity
13 GOING ON 30(12,97 m ins) Comedy/ Drama/ Romance/ Musical. Jennifer Garner, Mark Ru ff a lo, Judy Greer, Samuel Ball, Christ aB Allen, Kathy Baker, Phil Reeves. Director: Gary Wini ck.
Directed with a light touch by Gary Winick, 13GoingOn30 is Big with lipstick and heels, chronicling the madcap misadventures of a teenage girl who yearns to grow up and then gets her wish in one of those magical twists of fate that only happen in the movies.
Like Tom Hanks, Jennifer Garner is lovable and goofy as a 13-year-old trapped in the body of a successful fashion magazine editor.
Her natural charm carries the film, most notably when she sparks a disastrous work party to life by recreating the dance routine from Michael Jackson’s Thriller, cajoling other guests to join her by impersonating zombies.
Garner spends much of the film affecting a wide-eyed stare as life throws one obstacle after another in her way, including the startling realisation that her nerdy best friend from school has blossomed into a handsome photographer (Mark Ruffalo).
The soundtrack fizzes to retro 1980s hits from the likes of Madonna and Pat Benatar.
THE DEVIL WEARS PR ADA( PG ,109 m ins) Comedy/ Drama/ Romance. Meryl St reep, Emily Blunt, Anne Hath away, Stan le yTuc ci, Adrian Grenier. Director: David Frankel.
Gliding through every frame in swathes of Galliano, Valentino and, of course, Prada, Meryl Streep is utterly breathtaking as the sadistic reigning queen of fashion torn from the pages of Lauren Weisberger’s international bestseller, who is armed to her polished teeth with knockout one-liners. As despicable as her character may be, Streep expertly reveals tiny flaws in her villainess’s designer label armour, showing glimmers of humanity and vulnerability beneath the impeccably coiffed facade.
We come to love this silver-haired bully – the way she terrorises her staff, her refusal to tolerate fools – at the expense of the heroine, Andy Sachs (Anne Hathaway), a graduate from Northwestern University who lands a plum job as second assistant to fearsome Miranda Priestly (Streep).
Emily Blunt is adorable as a permanently stressed-out gopher on a new diet: “I don’t eat anything and then when I feel like I’m about to faint, I eat a cube of cheese.”
EDDIETHEEAGLE(PG,105mins)Comedy/Drama.Taron Egerton,HughJackman,ChristopherWalken,KeithAllen, JoHartley,TimMcInnerny.Director:DexterFletcher. Cheltenham-born athlete Eddie Edwards became a media sensation in 1988 when he represented Great Britain in the ski jump in Calgary.
His remarkable story of triumph against gravity, which swelled the patriotic hearts of a nation, provides the creative spark for Dexter Fletcher’s comedy drama.
EddieTheEagle is an unabashedly crowd-pleasing delight for all ages.
Screenwriters Sean Macaulay and Simon Kelton don’t let the truth get in the way of telling a good yarn, slaloming between historical fact and humorous artistic licence to ensure their film remains giddily airborne.
Fletcher’s light touch behind the lens concentrates on the camaraderie between a remarkable underdog (Taron Egerton) and his fictional trainer (Hugh Jackman), who defied the snooty naysayers to prove that anything is possible when you take a leap of faith.
In real life, Edwards never climbed on to the Olympic winner’s podium but Fletcher’s charming film is champion. Based on Gail Carson Levine’s best-selling novel, Ella Enchanted re-imagines the Cinderella fairytale in a sassy world of giants, elves, witches and talking serpents. Director Tommy O’Haver’s fantasy is 96 minutes of rollicking entertainment, crammed to bursting with visual gags, smart one-liners and some rousing song and dance numbers including Queen’s SomebodyToLove and a fabulous full cast rendition of Don’tGoBreakingMyHeart. Anne Hathaway recaptures the sweetness and steely determination of her PrincessDiaries character and she gels nicely with Hugh Dancy’s dreamboat royal (the cover boy of MedievalTeen magazine, no less).